Red Hot Chili Peppers Welcome George Clinton At 1st Show With John Frusciante Since 2007

Red Hot Chili Peppers delivered a “surprise” hometown show at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles on Friday marking guitarist John Frusciante’s first public concert with the band since 2007 and RHCP’s first public show since 2019. The special occasion also saw RHCP welcoming funk legend George Clinton and offering a trio of live debuts of songs from their new album, Unlimited Love, which arrived yesterday as well.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers kicked off the show with Unlimited Love single “These Are The Ways,” which they recently performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live. The Kimmel performance and last night’s show at The Fonda saw RHCP drummer Chad Smith with “Talyor” written on his bass drum in honor of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins who sadly died on March 25. The band then turned to material, “Snow ((Hey Oh)),” off their 2006 album Stadium Arcadium — the group’s last album with Frusciante until Unlimited Love.

The Chili Peppers then offered their first Unlimited Love debut of the evening in the form of “Here Ever After” ahead of a cut, “Suck My Kiss,” off their landmark 1991 album Blood Sugar Sex Magik. RHCP then unveiled Unlimited Love’s “Aquatic Mouth Dance” followed by Stadium Arcadium’s “Hey” and a favorite, “Can’t Stop,” from their 2002 LP By The Way. Frusciante then delivered a solo guitar arrangement of the Elton John 1970 classic “Your Song,” a cover making its first Red Hot Chili Peppers appearance in decades, as per SetlistFM.

“Not The One” then counted as the final Unlimited Love debut of the evening followed by the LP’s lead single, “Black Summer,” a version of which also aired on The Tonight Show on Friday. RHCP brought the set to a close with the title track to By The Way. Red Hot Chili Peppers returned for an encore of “Give It Away.” The band’s old friend and collaborator George Clinton, who produced RHCP’s 1985 sophomore album Freaky Styley and has performed with the quartet throughout the years, sauntered out onto the stage as Smith and bassist Flea locked in a groove that would lead into the Blood Sugar Sex Magik classic with Clinton and RHCP frontman Anthony Kiedis teaming up to sing the funky number.

Watch fan-shot video of Geroge Clinton and Red Hot Chil Pepper on “Give It Away” along with clips of the “Here Ever After” debut, ​​Frusciante on “Your Song” and more below:

Also, check out RHCP’s recent late night appearances:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oIbMKQRIS8